There is a starter shown in, for example, Patent Document 1, as a conventional one in which a shift lever makes its pivotal seesaw motion in conjunction with a reciprocal movement of a plunger of an electromagnetic switch, so that a pinion gear is engaged with or released from a ring gear.
As shown in FIG. 8, the starter disclosed in Patent Document 1 is configured such that a straddle portion of a shift lever SL straddles along and over a groove of a clutch; and that a link between the straddle portion of the shift lever and the groove of the clutch, in order to smoothly reciprocate the clutch by the shift lever under pivotal seesaw motion and also to prevent a linked portion of the radially rotating clutch from being excessively abraded due to sliding friction with both end faces of the groove, is established in such a manner of attaching to both end portions of the straddle portion of the shift lever SL, shift pieces SP each rotatable relative to the end portion, so that the straddle portion is joined via the shift pieces SP to the groove of the clutch.
Meanwhile, there is a starter shown in, for example, Patent Document 2, as another conventional one. As shown in FIG. 9, the starter disclosed in Patent Document 2 is configured by disposing on the groove of the clutch a shift piece RP that is ring like and has fitting portions relatively rotatably fittable to a shift lever, and by mounting the shift lever SL to the fitting portions of the shift piece RP for joining together.